The price of shares of Apple stock has been booming since last week’s Q3 2017 earnings call, with the company recovering from a several-month dip since the call and reaching record highs. RBC Capital analyst Amit Daryanani thinks that the recent momentum will continue as Apple launches the iPhone 8 in September, with Apple having a good chance to become the first company to reach and sustain a $1 trillion market capitalization.
Even with the market down slightly this morning, Apple’s market cap was hovering around $814 billion. Daryanani thinks that the iPhone 8 launch is destined to create a “super cycle” for Apple, saying “Apple has potential to achieve a $1 trillion dollar market cap and even surpass that over the next 12 to 18 months. We see upside occurring from multiple levers.”
The current share price (around $158 per share this morning) would need to rise to the range of $192 – $195 per share to reach the trillion dollar valuation. The “levers” Dayanani refers to include revenue increasing from the release of the iPhone 7s and iPhone 8 models, with the iPhone 8 being a higher-priced premium model; growing services revenue further expanding profit margins; tighter cost control; and strong stock buybacks.
